In the United States, buildings are responsible for more than 40% to the total energy consumption while heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems account for 50% of the energy consumed in the buildings [1]. Poor design and inefficient operation of the HVAC system lead to a significant amount of energy wastage [2].
Though it is possible to retrofit buildings with high efficiency HVAC equipment, doing so requires a substantial amount of investment [3]. In contrast, improving the control algorithms (that operate the HVAC system) to reduce energy usage is far more cost effective. Therefore, many researchers have recently focused on developing advanced control algorithms to reduce energy usage in the buildings; see [5], [6], and references therein, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.